He studied in Cologne and Munich, and in 1879 won the Mendelssohn Prize which enabled him to travel to Italy. There he met Wagner, who invited him to Bayreuth to assist in the preparation of Parsifal. He then won further scholarships to Italy, France, and to Spain where he became professor at the Barcelona Conservatory in 1885. Two years later he returned to Germany, teaching in Frankfurt. His Hansel und Gretel eclipsed all his other works in international popularity.